Page 44 of The Frog Prince (The GriMM Tales #6)

“And prevented me from telling anyone. She wanted to laugh at me while I tried to find someone to love me as a monster with no way to influence them by telling them that I would turn back, or that I was a prince before.”

Otto’s eyes were soulful as they regarded him. “Which is why you asked for a companion.”

Alwin looked down, ashamed. “I never wanted to force anyone. I simply wanted a chance—”

Otto pressed a swift kiss to his mouth. “I do not feel cheated. If human eyes weren’t so blind to real beauty there wouldn’t have been a curse at all.”

Alwin risked a glance up. “You were the only one to accept.”

“In eight years?”

Alwin nodded. “Some I did not ask, but those I did refused. Until you.”

“My heart aches for your suffering,” Otto said. “But I am selfishly glad that it was me.”

Alwin smiled despite the echoing pain of despair and loneliness. “Fate made it so. I fell in love with you long ago, after all.”

Otto frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I met sunshine in a person in a foreign country when I was young,” Alwin said. “He’d come to balls and gatherings occasionally with his family, would run wild through the gardens and chase a golden ball around.”

Otto gasped and pushed up on his elbow to stare at Alwin.

“You were there?” Otto asked. “That was you?”

“One of the not so highly esteemed children,” he teased.

Otto flushed. “How was I to know when you refused to give me a name! And if anyone there wasn’t esteemed it was me. How do you even remember me?”

“Nothing about you is forgettable, Otto,” Alwin said, lifting a hand to cup his cheek.

“You used to be a beacon of light during those dull days. I loved your spirit and your passion and your mischief. I thought it was just a childhood crush, but you were never out of my mind. You visited often in my dreams.”

“I didn’t—”

“No, I know you didn’t reciprocate,” Alwin interjected but Otto shook his head and kissed his forehead.

“I didn’t know it was a possibility. I might not have known you were a prince, but I knew who I was. A lowly nobleman’s son. We were not on the same level. We never would have been allowed…”

Alwin watched a shadow pass over Otto’s face.

“My love?”

Otto looked up. “You’re still a prince. And I am no longer even a lowly nobleman. I am a village healer with nothing to my name. We can’t…”

“You have all of my love to your name, Otto. I have learned how not to be a prince, and I will gladly do it again if it means keeping you.”

“You can’t give up on your kingdom,” Otto whispered.

“They have been surviving without me all these years. I will not give up willingly, but you are my priority.”

“Alwin…”

“You are my future,” he said firmly, and Otto cuddled back into his side, tracing shapes into Alwin’s skin with the tips of his fingers. “Besides, there really is no telling whether I will be accepted back.”

“Of course you will. Your kingdom wept for you. They will be overjoyed to have you back. Your family more than anyone.”

Alwin held up his hand, green and four-fingered and decidedly inhuman. “I am not as I was. As much as I love them, the minds of people are hard to change.”

Otto covered his hand with his own gently, curling his fingers into Alwin’s palm. Pink smothering green. “Then we conceal it for now. Until you feel prepared to reveal it.”

Alwin looked between his eyes. “How?”

“Gloves. High-necked shirts—you already love those. Boots. We can get them tailor made.”

“My face…”

Otto touched the lines along his nose and cheeks lovingly. “Gisela has makeup. It will work temporarily until you can consult with your family and you feel ready.”

“Going back means the queen will find out that the curse is broken,” Alwin said.

“Do you think she will come after you?”

“I have to assume the worst. There is no telling what she might do.”

“What is your plan?”

“If I am able to return home and take my place on the throne, I may stand a chance of moving against her. Like this, I have no power.”

Otto nodded. “Then it is decided. We are going to Hallin.”

Alwin’s heart skipped a beat. “Are you certain you want to go with me?”

“I’ll go wherever you go,” Otto murmured. “As long as Gisela is welcome.”

“I aim to make her general of the Hallinisch army, actually.”

Otto burst out laughing. “She is well prepared for such a role.”

“She has more than proved her mettle. No one would oppose her.”

“Can Farwin be her second in command?” Otto asked.

Alwin chuckled. “Royal gossiper would be a more suitable role for him.”

I will be best , croaked from a nearby bush.

Alwin froze.

The thought had never crossed his mind until that very moment if he’d be able to understand his frogs once he was human again. He’d wanted to break the curse with such a singular intent he hadn’t given a conscious thought as to what he’d be losing in the process.

“Farwin?” he called tentatively and the hoppy little menace appeared in front of him, staring at his human face.

He sprung up and took Alwin’s face between his little hands like he had always done despite his repeated protests. He turned Alwin’s head left and right, leaning in to stare into his eyes and up his nostrils.

Pretty.

“You can understand me still?” Alwin asked, heart in his throat.

Farwin looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.

Majesty smarter as frog , he said with a huff before hopping away.

Alwin chuckled. It came out shaky and slightly hysterical.

“Love?” Otto called.

Alwin turned to look at him, heart hammering and relief flooding in once more. “I haven’t lost them.”

“Your frogs?”

“I don’t think I realized it, but something inside me thought I’d lose the ability to talk to them once I was human.

I must have repressed it somehow. Forced myself not to think of it so I’d keep fighting to have my old self back.

But it was clearly there. The fear. And the loss.

It’s like I already mourned them without ever realizing. ”

“But you still have them.”

“I do.” Alwin smiled. “It seems like I have everything.

Otto cupped his cheek. “You deserve everything.”

Alwin resettled himself in Otto’s arms and they shared soft touches as they planned their next steps. They kissed and held each other close. They whispered secrets and fears and desires into the barely there space between their bodies, hopeful the ruins would keep them safe from everyone else.

The night approached, chill and dark but comforting to them. Familiar. They allowed it in like an old friend, letting it wrap around them and dull the outside world until there was nothing but their bodies on the makeshift bed in their tiny kingdom.

The prince.

And his young master.

“I always did wonder what happened to my golden ball,” Otto whispered just before they both sank into sleep. “And you had it this whole time.”

“The one thing I’d never bargain,” he said. “You.”